Collection of Gods

Chapter 966: Immortal Residence
Zhou Lei and Xu Fangping, a grandparent and granddaughter, are like a miniature of many tourists. They are constantly amazed at the luxury, exquisiteness and grandeur of the Tianmu Taoist Palace.

Just as Zhou Lei and Xu Fangping were worshiping Wang Lingguan and the four marshals, Qian Cheng, Wang Yayuan, Wang Longze, Lin Ziyang, Yao Lei and others walked in from outside the temple gate. The person leading the way in front of them was a real Taoist priest from the Tianmu Taoist Palace. Compared with the tour guides of other tourists, they were obviously more prestigious.

Tianmu Taoist Temple is opening today, and as Tang Yuan's good friends, they naturally have to come to show their support. They have heard about Tang Yuan receiving important people in the morning, and they also know that Tang Yuan has gone back to the hotel to catch up on sleep, so they did not disturb Tang Yuan and formed a group to go hiking and sightseeing on their own.

"Fellow Daoist Qian, didn't you just ask what the authentic way of worshipping the gods is? Look at the young girl in front of you and the old lady next to her. What they are doing right now is a very standard and authentic way of worshipping the gods."

Because Qian Cheng and others had received special care from Tang Yuan, Tianmu Taoist Temple sent a Taoist priest to accompany them. The Taoist priest who was responsible for accompanying Qian Cheng and others today was named Zhou Tongren. He originally practiced Taoism in Daluo Mountain, Mianshan, Shanxi, but now he changed his sect and came to Tianmu Taoist Temple. He has been practicing Taoism for 23 years and wears a green Taoist robe.

Qian Cheng and others who were originally looking at the internal structure of the Lingguan Temple, subconsciously turned their gaze to Zhou Lei and Xu Fangping after hearing Taoist Master Zhou Tongren's words.

"The correct way to worship God is to first relax your whole body, look straight ahead, let your arms hang naturally, align your middle fingers with your trouser seams, and keep your feet parallel and shoulder-width apart."

"The second is to make the Tai Chi Yin-Yang seal with both hands, raising them to the eyebrows. Generally, men and women hold their left hand over their right hand, with the left hand on top of the right hand, because the left hand represents good and the right hand represents evil."

"Then place your left hand on your heart, and at the same time, lower your right hand and squat slowly. At the same time, press your right palm down to the center of the prayer mat. Then, place your left palm down to cover your right hand in the center of the prayer mat, crossing it with your right hand to form a cross. After both hands are pressed in the center of the prayer mat, kneel down on both knees, bow your whole body, and place your forehead flat on the ground. Your whole body should be prostrated like a spirit turtle."

……

While Zhou Lei and Xu Fangping were worshipping the gods, Zhou Tongren used them as examples to explain the core principles of the authentic method of worshipping the gods to Qian Cheng and others. The tourists who were nearby were also eavesdropping attentively.

After listening to Zhou Tongren's explanation, Qian Cheng and others all felt that they had understood it in their brains but not in their bodies. However, with Zhou Tongren around, they could let Zhou Tongren teach them step by step when it was their turn to worship later.

"Taoist temples still need to be prosperous. The combination of these clouds and temples really gives people the feeling of being the residence of gods. When I am tired from work in the future, I will come to Tianmu Taoist Temple to cultivate myself for a while. It will definitely greatly relieve my stress."

Wang Yayuan took Qian Cheng's arm, looked at the prosperous scene in front of her, raised her head and made a proposal to Qian Cheng.

"Okay."

"We'll come together then."

Qian Cheng nodded and agreed without even thinking about it.

"Eh?"

"Who said I brought you here?"

Wang Yayuan was stunned for a moment, then whispered: "You can't come, I don't want to bring you here."

"Why don't you bring me along?"

Qian Cheng felt unhappy when he heard this.

"A Taoist holy place must respect the gods and the Tao."

"If I bring you here, it would be disrespectful given your lustful and impatient personality."

Wang Yayuan blushed slightly and responded in a low voice. Qian Cheng, who was a little unhappy just now, heard Wang Yayuan's reason. He immediately said in a somewhat weak defense: "I... I won't do that!"

Seeing that Qian Cheng was still being stubborn, Wang Yayuan immediately rolled her eyes at him in a charming way, but she didn't say anything else because it was their turn in the queue to worship the gods.

Under the guidance of Zhou Tongren, Qian Cheng and others worshipped the gods in turn. The deity they worshipped was basically Wang Lingguan, and the four marshals were basically not worshipped.

Afterwards, they followed Zhou Tongren out of the Lingguan Temple and continued to climb up along the stone steps of the Tianmu Taoist Palace. The three magnificent and majestic temples soon appeared before their eyes again.

"My fellow Taoists, right in front of us is the Jade Emperor Hall, on the left is the God of Wealth Hall, and on the right is the Yuanjun Hall. I suggest that you go to the Jade Emperor Hall to worship first, and then we can temporarily separate. Those who intend to worship at the God of Wealth Hall turn left, and those who intend to worship at the Yuanjun Hall turn right."

Zhou Tongren stopped and spoke to Qian Cheng and others beside him.

"Is the deity enshrined in the Jade Emperor Temple the Jade Emperor?"

Wang Longze asked with some curiosity.

"Of course it's the Jade Emperor."

Zhou Tongren nodded in response.

"The Jade Emperor, of course I have to pay my respects to him."

"This is the king of all gods in Taoism!"

Everyone nodded in agreement with what Wang Longze said. They were not ordinary people. Each of them had studied in the world's top universities, so they were naturally not as superficial as ordinary people. To think that the Jade Emperor was as weak and incompetent as in "Journey to the West" would be completely smearing the image of the Jade Emperor.

The real Jade Emperor is the ruler of heaven and earth in Taoist mythology and legends, and the basic belief of Taoism. He holds a very high status in the Taoist hierarchy of gods. He controls thirty-six heavens above and seventy-two lands below, and is in charge of all matters concerning gods, immortals, Buddhas, saints, the human world, and the underworld. He has boundless power, rules over the heavens, commands all saints, dominates the universe, enlightens the heavens, practices the way of heaven, spreads the virtue of heaven, and creates all things.

According to the Taoist pantheon, only the Three Pure Ones can be ranked above the Jade Emperor. Even the Four Imperial Gods have to bow down and submit to him when they see him.

If it exists like this, how could it be as terrible as described in "Journey to the West"? If it was not a deliberate smear and vilification, the real Sun Wukong would not have overturned the Lingxiao Palace, and he probably wouldn't even have gotten close to it. There would not even be a need for the Jade Emperor to take action, as the Four Imperial Gods would be enough to suppress him for eternity and keep him from seeing the light of day.

"You have to worship at the Jade Emperor Temple, and you have to worship at the God of Wealth Temple, too. Look, the threshold of the God of Wealth Temple is almost broken by the crowds. I dare say that the incense at the Jade Emperor Temple is not even as strong as that at the God of Wealth Temple. The God of Wealth Temple is truly a must-see for all Chinese people!"

Yao Lei pointed in the direction of the God of Wealth Temple, and after he finished speaking with a smile, he immediately spoke again: "As for the Yuanjun Temple, does anyone want to go there to worship? If not, we can just skip it. After all, there are more than 200 large and small temples in the Tianmu Taoist Temple. If we go into every temple we see, we won't be able to finish visiting them even if we spend three days!"

As Yao Lei finished speaking, Lin Ziyang, Wang Longze, Xie Chengrun and others subconsciously nodded in agreement. However, just when Yao Lei thought that his proposal was passed unanimously, Qian Cheng and Wang Yayuan quietly raised their hands.

"Cough cough..."

"Yayuan and I really want to go and pay our respects at this Yuanjun Temple."

(End of this chapter)